Chernobyl 2014

My first trip to the Ukraine was in 2014 Feb, the reason for my visit was to take a two day tour of the Chernobyl 30km exclusion zone, and capture images which would be the main body of work for my major project, the most important piece of work in my third year of a BA Photography degree.

On arriving in the Ukraine it was late and I had arranged to be collected at the airport by taxi, when booking my appartment in the centre of Kiev.

As we entered the city centre the situation I had been observing live on the news, became very real as barrackades blocked each road entering the city, and manned by rioters wearing masks, camoflage clothing and holding some kind of weapon (baseball bat etc..not guns) suddenly I was in the center of a war zone which could in theory explode at any given time.

My appartment was litterally around the corner from all the action, where civillians camped out in Independence Square and a stage had been erected. The balcony of my apartment gave me a view of 'Ukraine House' The International Congress Centre, which had been seized by rioters and had become a refuge for them during the events.